Don't Do What I Did and Why It Took Me So Long to Figure This Out

by Julia D. Stege, MFA

@magicalmarketer

Sometimes the most obvious things are just not so obvious to me. I know I'm not alone in this. Looking back, it seems that my brain was on hold for the last several years while this obvious thing was escaping me. Now that I'm clear on my direction, the lack of clarity I had decided was OK for me and my business feels unbearable and unfathomable.

What happened was simply that all the while I have been talking about authentic marketing, I had resisted standing fully behind what I REALLY loved about my business and instead responded to what I speculated would be more successful. I prioritized my activities and my passion often came second. You could catch me talking about it now and again, what my true love is, what my real forte is, what my favorite conversation in the world is. To hear me talk about it you'd wonder at my willingness to do anything else, anything that was not centered solely on the passion of my life.

Can you guess what I'm talking about? Those of you who have taken my classes before can likely guess. I'm talking about Branding from the HeartTM : How to share yourself authentically in a way that promotes everything that you're up to. I have created a process around the funny little question from the BEE-ing Attraction PlanTM, "What makes me and my perfect customers tick?" and combined it with what I call Magical Keywords to help anyone brand anything completely authentically. My not-so-secret desire is to discover the beauty and magic in women entrepreneurs and progressive thought leaders and help them get the message out in a way that uplifts inspires millions of people to transform the world. On a practical level, I help people promote themselves consistently by sharing what's most important to them in a way that attracts their perfect customers.

And though I call myself an "intutive branding artist," and I have talked about Branding from the HeartTM and held classes on it and offered small consulting packages, I have emphasized teaching social networking because people knew they needed that, and they didn't understand branding (or so I thought). I have taught Social Networking classes for 4 years now, and though I have focused several classes on Branding from the HeartTM , I have never gotten around to creating a well-documented system, a home study course or a signature program for my this unique process.

And the reason it took me so long to
figure out that this that I was using my mind, and sometimes (especially in my case) the mind is a scary place to be.

You see, my poor brain is full of so many ideas of how to market, what to market, social networking, websites, blogs, and webinars, and on and on, I got confused about what I need to teach, and so I switched it up quite frequently and offered a huge array of services. I did well and increased my income in a down economy, but I was afraid that the thing I love the most, the thing I am a natural at and which I truly feel can transform the world, would not sell. I was listening to inner gremlins telling me, 'not now' 'people won't get it' and 'you're not ready.' This left me constantly responding to the needs of others without really working out what I wanted to focus on, my unique gift for the world.

So now that I've seen the light (and listened to my own inner guidance) I am creating a new signature Branding from the HeartTM System this year, and kicking it off with an Authentic Branding Summit starting in a few months. I feel as if all my energy jets are on full tilt and I'm blasting forward in the way I'm meant to be. And I'd like to invite you to help me get started with this.

I need your input to make
this system really great.

On Thursday, March 31st at 11 am PT I am sponsoring a no-cost webinar called, "Julia Answers All Your Branding Questions" where I'll be doing just that.  I want to hear from you the biggest questions you have about branding, about getting the message out, about your visual and verbal identity, about how to share what you do with incredibly clarity of purpose. I want to know where you struggle the most, what keeps eluding you, and what would make the biggest difference in helping you share your message with the world.

So here's the deal: I'll answer all your branding questions in exchange for some information from you. The registration form for the webinar includes several required question fields that I need you to answer to the best of your ability. I know it will take a bit of extra time on your part, and to express my appreciation for your heart-felt answers, I'm offering you free all-access pass to my Branding from the Heart Tele-Summit this summer including unlimited download of all 13 session recordings that I will be charging $197 for during the promotional launch in May.

I'll also be compiling answers to your questions for my presentation on the March 31st, and I'll be selecting a couple of folks from our audience to coach live during the webinar. So let me know what you're struggling with and I'll do what I can to help you move through that into the kind of clarity I am experiencing now.

HERE'S WHERE TO REGISTER FOR THE NO-COST WEBINAR 'JULIA ANSWERS ALL YOUR BRANDING QUESTIONS' ON THURS. MARCH 31ST 2011 AT 11 AM

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/680729106

Let me help you skip the years of avoiding the obvious that I have suffered, and let's together create your authentic heart-felt brand.

Go forth and attract!

Are you ready for a brand that is a true reflection of your vision, your purpose, your personality and your attraction plan? Shining your light to the world is your destiny. Let me help your light be a beautiful, authentic and wildly attractive one.

Apply for your complimentary Magical Strategy Session at http://www.magicalstrategysession.com/ or call Julia at (707) 823-3316 to schedule your appointment.

Let's Uplift the World

by Julia D. Stege, MFA

Social Networks are changing our lives. We are connecting with more people than ever before and having meaningful exchanges that have the potential to uplift us for hours if not days on end. I'm always looking for ways to uplift myself and others, and Social Networks like Facebook and Twitter offer easy ways to achieve this.

I'm thinking we could start a movement of uplifting people through social media and watch it spread via the amazing viral power of sharing!

We'll start with our own networks first. Even taking just 10 to 15 minutes at a time can make a huge difference in the lives of dozens of others. Here are some tips on how to do that.

TIP ONE: UPLIFTING THE LIVE STREAM

Facebook and Twitter offer a live news stream featuring the recent posts of your friends and connections. To uplift people, check out your news stream for interesting posts and respond to them. On Facebook click "Like" and write a comment about how you liked the post. On Twitter click "ReTweet" to post their tweet to your friends. This kind of interaction makes a huge difference to people and helps create a more lively conversation.

TIP TWO: DROP BY AND SAY HELLO

On Facebook you can go to your friend's wall and post something uplifting. Tell them you're thinking about them and ask how their dog is, or tell them you appreciate them in some way. Receiving nice personal notes like this can bring a smile and they'll be uplifted whenever they think about you. You can also join groups of like minded folks and visit the group pages to say hello and uplift others. Click like and comment on their posts and also post your own.

TIP THREE: FOLLOW FRIDAY

On Twitter, Fridays is the day to recommend people from your network to others using the #ff tag. Select several of your favorite peeps, folks who have ReTweeted you in the past, or mentioned you to their networks, and include them in your post.

Here's one I did today, since it's Friday!

@sparklekaz @cicacu_com @kar3n2@Jaineen @maryannhesse@LeahBtwo @LauraOBiering@MarieEpi @LiliaChambers@MandiLeigh1447 @SophieZo #ff

TIP FOUR: BE INVENTIVE

What other ways can you think of to uplift others through social media? It only takes a few seconds to make someone's day. Think of what could happen if more and more people are feeling happy? Let's uplift the world now!

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Magical Marketer Julia D. Stege, MFA helps people attract their perfect customers with a unique combination of Law of Attraction, Wildly Attractive WebsitesTM, Branding from the HeartTM, and smart Social Networking strategies. She is the author of the upcoming best-seller "Client Attraction Breakthough: How to Attract Clients Fast in the New Economy." If you're ready to start attracting your perfect customers now, get Julia's free Magical Marketing Toolkit at http://www.magicalmarketingtoolkit.com

How to Fall in Love with Marketing

by Julia D. Stege, MFA
@magicalmarketer

Remember that feeling of excitement you had when your second grade teacher asked you want you wanted to be when you grew up? Just imagining having a real job or career was thrilling and full of possibility.

I believe that those of us who start our own businesses have maintained a child-like sense of adventure in our lives. But when it comes to marketing, that excitements dampens and many of us get downright sullen!

I'd be willing to bet the reason you think marketing is a drag is that you don't look at marketing the way I do, as an opportunity to share what is most important to you with the people you love the most in the world.

Are you willing to shift your view of what marketing can be for you?

Here are some easy steps to follow to begin to fall in love with your marketing and attract your most perfect customers while you're at it.

1) Tap in to your passion. What do you really love about life? Get out a pad of paper and write stream of consciousness about what fills your heart with joy.

2) Feel into what your customers are dealing with and how you can help them. Remember the experience of really helping someone with your offering? Write down some of the things you said that inspired or helped them the most.

3) Take a look at what you wrote in #1 and #2 and see if you can make a connection. For instance, if you love nature and you are a business consultant, see if you can relate the lessons of a walk in the woods to the guidance you gave your perfect customers that helped them have a breakthrough in their business.

Thinking about what you love most in life, and remembering the high points in your work day simultaneously creates the joyous foundation for articles, sales pages, blog posts and tweets that are distinct, meaningful and authentic.

Try this process and post your results to this blog in the comments section. Let's start a movement of marketing that inspires!

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Magical Marketer Julia D. Stege, MFA helps people attract their perfect customers with a unique combination of Law of Attraction, wildly attractive logos and websites, and smart Internet marketing techniques. If you're ready to start attracting your perfect customers now, get Julia's free Magical Marketing Toolkit at http://www.magicalmarketingtoolkit.com